Improvement in drawing-tablets for children



,2 Sheet,s---:S1heet1. G. B. FOWLER.

Drawing-Tablets for Children. P50 14829]. Patented Marchfli0-.1'874.

A B am Emmi ifg zwwmm I 2Sheets--Sheet2. G. B. FOWLER.

Drawing-Tablets for Children N0 148,29}, Patented March 10.1874.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE BFFOW LEB, OF BROOKLYN, NEWYORK.

IMPROVEMENT lNbRAWING-TABLETS FOR C HlLDRE N.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 148,291, dated March 10, 1874 application filed June 3, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. FOWLER, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a Combined Stencil and Tablet for Drawing-Exercises, of which the following is a specification:

The object of my invention is to furnish an apparatus for the combined amusement and instruction of young children 5 and it consists in the combination with a drawing tablet of a stencil-plate containing letters, figures, and objects, or parts thereof, whenthe two are so constructed as to be used in connection for drawing, through the stencil, upon the tablet, the latter being capable of removal for inspection or completion of the drawing, and of being replaced in the same position with respect to the subjects or designs upon the stencil, as hereinafter set forth.

Figure 1 represents, in elevation, the tablet and stencil combined for use. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a view with the stencil partially removed, exposing a portion of the tablet after the outline has been made.

The most serious obstacle which young children encounter in their first attempts to draw is the inability of their untrained hands to direct the pencil aright to depict the form they attempt to represent, their perception of form being far in advance of their skill of hand.

A stencil having letters and the forms of objects adapted to the'minds of the young beginner affords a guide for the pencil-point, which renders it more difficult to make the lines in the wrong than in the right place. I make this fact available by so constructing a drawingtablet and a stencil-plate of suitable designs that the two may be held together in such a manner that the drawing can be traced through the stencil on the surface of the tablet, which may be removed from the stencil for the examination or completion of the drawing at will, and replaced again, so as to bring the stencil-openings and the lines drawn on the tablet in exact conformity for further execution, if desired.

To this end the stencil A may be formed with flanges c c, which embrace the edges of the tablet B, or the tablet may be set in a frame, and the sides of the frame grooved to receive the edges of the stencil, in which case its flanges c 0 would not be required; or the two may be connected by any equivalent means. I prefer to make them to slide longitudinally together, and the tablet may be of paper, or card board, or slate, or other material suitable for marking upon, while the stem oil is preferably made of thin metal, but may be of any other suitable material.

The child, in using this apparatus, will trace the outlines of the letters, figures, or objects through the stencil, and then, after removing the tablet, complete the sketch by filling the spaces covered by the bars, or by shading or coloring. By repeatedly tracing the same subject the forms become fixed in the memory, enabling it to be drawn from recollection when the hand has acquired sufficient accuracy to enable the child to discard the stencil, which it will do as soon as the attempts to draw without it are somewhat satisfactory to the little practitioner, who, by the exercise, has his faculty of comparison cultivated, as well as steadiness of hand, memory, and judgment of form and proportion.

The paramount principle is the guidance of the hand, so that a child, as soon as old enough to hold a pencil and mark with it, may begin to draw lines which approximate to correctness of form.

It is a fact well known to adults that an object which has once been sketched or drawn is impressed on the memory almost indelibly, and a child whose eyes are first familiarized with the form of a letter by the act of drawing it will remember its name much sooner than that one who sees it only.

Stencils of different kinds may be provided to fit the same tablet, and letters or objects, or

parts of letters and other objects, may be so arranged that the child can combine the fragments to complete a letter, or the objects to form a group, or parts of objects to form a complete one, by successively using two or more stencils.

By this means it is rendered an agent for cultivating the imagination and the inventive faculties, as well as training the hand and-eye.

The stencil mayalso be employed as a guide to the brush in coloring by replacing the tablet after the outlinehasbeen made upon it,

thus diversifying and rendering the practice more attractive by adding the charms of color; an d it may also be employed to guide the hands of beginners in filling or shading the subject after being outlined.

I claim- The drawingtablet B, in combination with the stencil A, provided with the flanges c c for holding said tablet in place, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

J. FRASER, CHARLES M. HIGGINS.

GEO. B. FOWLER. 

